College Football Week 11: Top 10 Stars Who Will Make Biggest Heisman Move
College Football Week 11 is here, and the top contenders for the sport's biggest individual prize seem to have already established themselves at the head of race.
Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton has been the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy for quite a while now, but he's gotten himself into some hot water with the NCAA.
That has opened the door for some possible dark horse candidates to step up and steal the award during the last stretch of the regular season.
So what guys have the potential to make the biggest move up the Heisman ladder this week and take home the coveted trophy?
Well, you may be thinking that the race is down to just a couple of guys, and you just might be right.
But let's take a look at 10 players who can improve their Heisman chances the most with big performances in Week 11.
10. Dernard Robinson, Michigan
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Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson was the Heisman favorite early on, but his team's record and his individual performance have faltered a bit down the stretch.
Robinson shouldn't be counted out just yet though. He has over 1,800 yards passing, 1,300 yards rushing and 25 total touchdowns, and he's going against a pretty bad 4-5 Purdue team this week.
The Boilermakers are not very good on defense, ranking 48th in rushing yards allowed and 73rd in points scored.
We could see a big day from Robinson on Saturday.
9. Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State
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Terrelle Pryor was most people's preseason favorite for the award, and he's actually had a good season despite being left out of the most recent Heisman talk.
He's thrown for almost 2,000 yards with 20 touchdown passes, and he's added three 100-yard rushing games and four rushing scores.
But Pryor will have a tough matchup this week against Penn State, which ranks 27th against the pass and 28th in points allowed.
The Buckeyes have put up 101 points the past two games, so Pryor always has the potential to explode for a big game, but he may have to get things going on the ground against that stingy Nittany Lions secondary.
8. Andy Dalton, TCU
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Andy Dalton's name doesn't come up all that often in the Heisman discussion, but he's played a critical part in TCU's success this season.
He's thrown for 2,200 yards and 19 touchdowns and is a better runner than people think, racking up 418 yards and another five touchdowns on the ground.
Dalton has suffered from playing weaker competition for most of the season, but he actually plays a solid San Diego State team this week that ranks 32nd against the pass and 28th in points allowed.
I've got faith in Dalton this week though, because the Aztecs' stats are inflated by an incredibly easy schedule.
They haven't faced anyone like the Horned Frogs all season.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
7. Darron Thomas, Oregon
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LaMichael James might be the most talented player on Oregon's team, but the Ducks wouldn't be where they were without Darron Thomas.
Thomas has racked up more than 2,000 yards and 22 touchdowns through the air to go along with 400 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
But Thomas has a huge test against California this week, which is a lot better than its 5-4 record indicates.
The Golden Bears have the nation's 17th-ranked passing defense and 24th-ranked rushing defense, but these are the types of games that improve a quarterback's Heisman resume.
Plus, in Cal's last two games against good offenses, the Golden Bears have given up 48 points (to USC) and 35 points (to Oregon State).
That defense might be a bit overrated.
6. Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma State
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Kendall Hunter is the middle child of the Heisman Trophy race, being stuck between the guys that have always been there (the first child) and the newbies in the race (the third child).
Hunter's stats aren't incredibly mesmerizing, but he has racked up 1,240 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns so far this season.
He has a nice opportunity for a big game this week when Oklahoma State takes on Texas.
The Longhorns rank 37th against the run, but they let Kansas State and Daniel Thomas run wild on them last week and have given up more than 32 points per game over the last three games.
Texas has lost three straight contests, so I don't see them slowing down the Cowboys offense, which is the No. 3 scoring offense in the nation.
5. Ricky Stanzi, Iowa
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Is there a more under-appreciated quarterback in the country than Ricky Stanzi? I don't think so.
The guy's been remarkably consistent this year, with 2,200 passing yards, 20 touchdowns, only three interceptions and a 175 quarterback rating.
In his last four games, he's tossed 10 touchdowns to just one interception.
And this Week, Stanzi and the Hawkeyes will face a Northwestern squad that is in the midst of a big slump, having lost three of its last four games.
The Wildcats gave up 225 yards passing and four touchdowns to Penn State quarterback Matthew McGloin last week, who was making just his third start of the year.
So I don't see Northwestern being able to stop Stanzi from putting up similar numbers in Week 11.
4. Taylor Martinez, Nebraska
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Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez was pulled in the team's loss to Texas earlier in the season, but he's been one of the nation's best dual-threat quarterbacks in 2010.
Martinez is reminiscent of former Cornhusker Eric Crouch, passing for more than 1,100 yards and nine touchdowns while adding 886 yards and another 12 touchdowns on the ground so far.
He has Nebraska in the top 10 of the BCS standings, and the Cornhuskers should beat Kansas in a cakewalk this week.
The Jayhawks have lost four of their last five games, including a three-game stretch where they allowed 55, 59 and 45 points respectively.
On the season, Kansas ranks 107th in the nation in points allowed, so I'm expecting Martinez to run wild on the Jayhawks in Week 11.
3. LaMichael James, Oregon
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LaMichael James is one of my favorite players to watch in college football.
He's a tiny running back at 5'9", 185 pounds, but he makes opposing defenses look silly with some of the stuff he does on the field.
James has racked up more than 1,300 rushing yards and 18 total touchdowns through nine games on the way to giving Oregon the No. 1 offense in the country.
As I stated in the earlier slide about Darron Thomas, Oregon does not have a great matchup on paper against Cal this week, but the Golden Bears have laid a couple of eggs this season.
And James has only one game this season with less than 121 rushing yards and has three 200-yard games.
He's not going to slow down anytime soon.
2. Andrew Luck, Stanford
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When it comes to Andrew Luck, apparently football fans are skipping over the Heisman talk and going straight to the NFL Draft chatter.
I mean, I can't blame them. Luck will probably be the No. 1 overall pick next year.
But let's talk about Luck's 2010 college season. He's passed for 2,200 yards and 22 touchdowns, and he's tacked on 370 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.
Luck also has a favorable matchup against Arizona State in Week 11.
The Sun Devils have given up more than 38 points per game in their last three losses and got torched for three touchdowns last week by USC's Matt Barkley.
Stanford ranks fifth in the nation in scoring at 42.3 points per game, so Luck is poised for a monster showing on the road at Arizona State.
1. Kellen Moore, Boise State
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Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore threw 39 touchdowns and just three interceptions last year and still wasn't even close to winning the Heisman Trophy.
This year, he's thrown 2,300 yards and 21 touchdowns and has been very accurate once again, with a 71.8 completion percentage.
His numbers aren't nearly as good as they were last year, but I wouldn't completely disregard him in the race.
The Broncos play at Idaho this week, and the Vandals have given up 108 points the last two weeks—that's ridiculous.
This is a good opportunity for Moore to pad his stats with a 300-yard, five-touchdown performance that is definitely attainable.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
